SS Veendam was a Dutch-owned transatlantic liner, launched in Scotland in 1922 and scrapped in the United States in 1953. She was part of the first generation of turbine-powered steamships in the Holland America Line (Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij, or NASM) fleet. Veendam and her sister ship were NASM's largest turbine steamships until the flagship was completed in 1929.
In the 1920s and 30s, Veendam spent most of her career on scheduled services between Rotterdam and Hoboken, New Jersey. She also operated seasonal cruises, usually from Hoboken to the Caribbean. In summer 1934 she made two cruises from Rotterdam to destinations in Europe, and early in 1938 she cruised from New Orleans to the Caribbean.
In the Second World War she evacuated refugees from Europe, until in 1940 she was captured in the German invasion of the Netherlands. In 1941 the Kriegsmarine requisitioned Veendam as an accommodation ship. Between 1943 and 1945 she was damaged in several air raids, and sank at her moorings. She was raised in 1945, refitted in 1946, and returned to NASM transatlantic and cruising service in 1947. She was withdrawn from service and scrapped in 1953.
This was the second NASM ship to be named after the town of Veendam in Groningen. The first was the White Star Liner , which NASM bought and renamed in 1888. NASM next used the name in 1972, when it bought and renamed the turbine steamship .
Building In 1922 Harland & Wolff launched two liners at its shipyard in Govan, Glasgow, for NASM. Volendam was launched on 6 July 1922, and completed on 12 October that year. Her sister Veendam was built on slipway number 4 as yard number 650, launched on 18 November 1922, and completed on 29 March 1923.
Veendams lengths were overall and registered. Her beam was and her depth was . Her tonnages were , and . As built, she had berths for 1,898 passengers: 262 in first class, 436 in second class, and 1,200 in third class. Her holds had capacity for of grain, or of baled cargo.
The ship had two screws and four Brown–Curtis turbines: two high-pressure and two low-pressure. Each screw was driven by one high-pressure and one low-pressure turbine via single-reduction gearing. Her nine water-tube boilers were oil-fuelled, and supplied steam to her high-pressure turbines at 215 psi. The combined power of her four turbines was rated at 1,913 NHP or 8,000 bhp, and gave her a speed of . She had two funnels, but the after one was a dummy.
One of the ship's saloons was decorated with a large painting of the Oude Verlaat in the town of Veendam. Veendam's town council presented the new ship with a certificate and a panoramic photograph of the town centre.
NASM registered Volendam at Rotterdam. Her code letters were PWBG.
Early years Veendam began her maiden voyage from Rotterdam on 18 April 1923, and arrived in Hoboken with 133 passengers on 28 April. Her regular toute was via Boulogne and Plymouth.
On the evening of 7 September 1924, on a westbound voyage, one of Veendams first class passengers, Arthur Dearth, was lost overboard. No-one saw him fall, and the alarm was not raised until later, when his wife, who was travelling with him, reported him missing.
On the morning of 13 June 1925, on an eastbound voyage, a young woman passenger, Elizabeth Cromwell, was seen to fall or jump overboard from Veendams starboard side. The ship immediately turned around, and a search was made for 90 minutes, but she was never found. Cromwell was a second cousin of twins Dorothea and Gladys Cromwell, who took their own lives by jumping from the CGT liner La Lorraine together in January 1919. However, it was reported that Elizabeth did not know her cousins.
Two collisions On 17 February 1926, Veendam left Hoboken carrying 400 passengers on a cruise to the Caribbean, calling at ports in the West Indies and Central America. Early in 1927 she made at least two more cruises to the West Indies. The second left Hoboken on 17 February.
At 04:40 hrs on 15 July 1927, Veendam was in fog about east of the Nantucket Lightship when she was involved in a collision with the Norwegian cargo steamship Sagaland. One seaman on Sagaland was killed, 20 of the crew scrambled aboard Veendam, and two of the liner's lifeboats rescued four members of Sagalands crew from the water. Veendams 164 passengers promptly donated more than US$1,000 to a fund, which it was reported would probably be given to the family of the dead seaman. Veendam landed survivors at Hoboken on 16 July.
On 10 December 1927, Veendam left Hoboken carrying $4 million in gold to the Netherlands. The bullion was being moved because the Dutch guilder had risen to a record high price against the United States dollar.
On 17 March 1928, Veendam left Hoboken for a cruise to the West Indies. Also in 1928, her passenger accommodation was revised. She still had 262 berths in first class, and second class was only slightly reduced to 430, but her third class accommodation was replaced with 480 tourist class berths.
On 19 May 1928, Veendam left Hoboken with 700 passengers on her usual route to Rotterdam via Plymouth and Boulogne. But New York harbour was fog-bound that day and the next, and ten ships were involved in collisions. At 09:00 hrs on 19 May, the Isthmian Steamship Company cargo ship Anniston City collided with the Red Star Liner . Veendam stopped and anchored because of the fog, but at either 13:13 or 13:30 hrs the Porto Rico Line ship Porto Rico struck her port side, flooding Veendams engine room. Veendam remained at anchor until midnight, and then returned to Hoboken, well down by the stern. At 15:14 hrs two coastal liners collided: Jefferson ramming . At 01:08 hrs the next morning, the Atlantic Transport Liner collided with the United Fruit Company refrigerated cargo ship La Maria. Also, a schooner and a tug collided in Long Island Sound.
Back in Hoboken, Veendam disembarked her passengers, the Merritt-Chapman salvage tug Chapman Brothers pumped out her engine room, and then Veendam discharged her cargo. On 28 May Veendam went to Robins Dry Dock and Repair Company for repair. She returned to service on 16 June, leaving Hoboken for Rotterdam.
Cavalry horses and storm damage
On 28 October 1928, Veendam arrived at Hoboken carrying the Royal Netherlands Army team on its way to the National Horse Show. The ship was temporarily equipped with padded stalls for the team's six cavalry horses.
On 11 February 1929, Veendam left Hoboken on a Caribbean cruise. It included calls at Santiago de Guayaquil on 20 February, Cristóbal, Colón on 24 February, La Guaira on 1 March, and Kingston, Jamaica on 2 March, and got back to Hoboken on 13 March.
On 24 September 1929, Veendam ran aground off the Hook of Holland. Helped by tugs, she was refloated after three hours. She was reported to be undamaged, and reached Rotterdam under her own power.
By 1930 Veendam was equipped with wireless direction finding. On 30 January 1930, on a westbound crossing, a storm hit her with high wind. For a time, the ship heeled over by 45 degrees. A wave high swept equipment off her decks, tore lifeboats from their davits, and severely damaged a deck house and her bridge. Her new wireless direction finder, and a section of her promenade rail, were swept away. Five crew members and two passengers were injured. Her third class accommodation was flooded, with water deep in the dining saloon. Ropes and gear blocked a passageway, trapping 60 people in the smoking saloon.
Veendam hove to for 26 hours for temporary repairs, during which time she drifted off course. She reached Hoboken on 7 February, and a team of 200 engineers, fitters and other shipyard workers worked on the ship at the pier in Hoboken to complete repairs in time for her to begin a Caribbean cruise on 10 February.
Bermuda charter
On 26 February 1930, Furness Bermuda Line announced that it would charter Veendam for 12 months, starting that July. She would be a running-mate for on the twice-weekly service between New York and Hamilton, Bermuda. Her funnels were repainted in Furness Bermuda Line colours, and she flew Furness Bermuda Line's house flag. Her first sailing on the route was on 2 July, and was fully booked.
In June 1931, just before Veendams charter was due to end, her running-mate Bermuda was badly damaged by fire. Furness Bermuda Line extended Veendams charter until November 1931, when the new Monarch of Bermuda was completed. She completed her last crossing from Bermuda back to New York on 9 November, was returned to NASM the next day, and left New York on 14 November to be dry docked in Rotterdam.
Wilton-Fijenoord refitted her passenger accommodation. There were still 263 berths in first class, but there were now 633 in tourist class and 555 in third class. Veendam was due to return to Hoboken in December 1931 to make cruises to the West Indies and Bermuda, but her refit continued into the New Year, and she did not reach Hoboken again until 20 January 1932. She was to make a seven-day cruise to Bermuda, including three days in port in Hamilton. The minimum fare was to be $65. She continued making cruises that season until at least 10 March 1932.
On 10 June 1932, Veendam left Hoboken on an eastbound transatlantic crossing. Her passengers included 250 pilgrims to the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, and she was scheduled to make a special call at Cobh for them to disembark. Several NASM ships had been built in Ireland, but this was the first time one was to visit the island while in passenger service.
Seamen's strike
At the beginning of September 1932, members of the Bond voor Minder Marine Personeel (BMMP) trade union working for most Dutch shipping lines struck for better wages. As the NASM liner left Boulogne on 4 September on a westbound crossing, her ships' stokers demanded that she terminate her voyage and return to Rotterdam. Her Master anchored her near the West Hinder lightvessel, where a detachment of 30 Dutch Marines boarded the ship from a pilot boat. The ship returned to Rotterdam, where 11 members of her crew were arrested for mutiny. On 7 September, NASM announced that it would not re-hire 400 BMMP members.
Veendam was on an eastbound crossing, about a week behind Rotterdam. On 11 September, NASM announced that Veendam would avoid the port of Rotterdam, in an attempt to prevent her crew from joining the dispute. She would land all her passengers at Boulogne, then discharge her cargo at Southampton, and embark westbound passengers firstly at Boulogne and then at Southampton. However, by the next day NASM had backed down, and allowed Veendam to complete her voyage to Rotterdam.
On 15 September some shipping lines reached an agreement with the BMMP, oncluding reinstatement of the 400 members that NASM had dismissed, but BMMP members at Rotterdam voted to reject it. However, the "contact commission" between the shipping companies and the BMMP established that an aggregate of the votes from the separate mass meetings at Amsterdam and Rotterdam produced a majority in favour of returning to work. Veendam resumed service. She left Rotterdam on 17 September, and was expected to reach Hoboken on 28 September.
In the early months of 1933, Veendam cruised as usual. A cruise to Bermuda, which she was due to start from Hoboken on 14 April, was reduced from eight days to seven, and NASM reduced its fares accordingly.
By 1934, the wireless telegraph call sign PIEP had replaced Volendams code letters. In 1934 she was scheduled to make two summer cruises from Rotterdam: one of 11 days in July to Norway and Iceland, and one of ten days in August to Spain and Portugal.